Lock stitching attachment



M W, l936- J. A. SOMMERS El AL LOCK STITCHING ATTACflMENT Filed June 14, 1955 a Sheets-Sheet 1 tlomgy March 10, 1936. J. A. SOMMERS El AL 2,933,858

I LOCK'STITCHING ATTACHMENT Filed June 14, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors $om7wer Fa lerney 1936. J. A. SOMMERS Er AL LOCK STITOHING ATTACHMENT Maurch 110 Filed June 14, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 10, 1936 PATENT OFFICE 2,033,858 LOCK srrrcnmen'rmonmcnr Joseph A. Sommers and Milton Friedman, Philadelphia, Pa.

ApplicationJune 14, 1933, Serial No. 675,851

7 3 Claims, (cite-97) Our invention relates generally to knitting machines of the circular type, and particularly to an attachment for a conventional circular knitting machine enabling the forming of fabrics of nonrunning character through the incorporation of lock stitches in the fabric at selected points: and an important object of our invention is to provide a simple and effective attachment of this type enabling the production ofa novel nonrunning fabric, the attachment being simple, inexpensive, and easily installed and maintained. i

. Others objects and advantages of our invention, will. be apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with the drawings, wherein for purposes of illustration wehave shown a preferredembodiment of our invention,

In the drawings:-- Figure l is a top plan view of a circular knitting machine, showing a pair of units constructed and applied to the-machine in accordancewith the principles of ourinvention. V 7 V Figure2 is a transverse vertical sectional view through a portion of the needle cylinder showing the construction and arrangementfof oneof the Figure 3 is atop plan viewv of aportion ofthe unit show-ingthe cooperation of needle operating wheels with needles. 7

.Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view through Figure 2 showing an operative position of. a pair of needles having a stitch carried thereby. Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view through Figure 3 showing an operative position of a pair of needles. I a

Figure 6. s a, top plan view of one of the operating wheels. 7 I

Figure '1 is an elevational view'of the outside of the push down'or stitch spreadingwheel.

Figurev 8 is a side elevational view of aplurality of the needles showing a pair thereof in the position first given them by the inside operating wheel. a V V j Figure 9. is a view similar toFigure 8 showing the final operative positionof saidpair of needles given themby the outside operating wheel pre liminary to'be engaged by the push down. or splitting wheel. I I r Figure 10 is a planview ofio'ur novel fabric made by the. attachment.

, Referring in detail to the drawings, thennumeral 5. refers generally to a conventional type of, circular knitting machine-having the table portion. 6 whereon are mounted;-conventional feeds,.'|,. 8,, 9. and, Ill. The feeds act upon the needles generally designated I I which are mounted upon the rotating cylinder or needle carrier l2. It will be obvious that a suitable number of feeds may be employed, the pair of the attachment units l3, l4 being diametrically opposed or in any other suitable arrangement according to the number and disposition of the feeds. 5 Since the attachment units'l3, I4 are exactly similar in form and arrangement, description of one of themwill sufiice to disclose the nature of the other.

Each of the units comprises an inside bracket 10 I5 and an outside bracket [6. The brackets have stationary standards l1, I8 which have vertically adjustable members I9, mounted thereon by a bolt disposed through a slot in the standand and a slot in the vertically adjustable mem- 5 ber. The brackets l5, l6 are radially and circumferentially adjustable as a whole on the table 6 0f the knitting machine, the bracket l5 being located radially inwardly of and the bracket I 6 radially outwardly of and adjacent to the needle 20 carrier or cylinder 2i and fastened in place with bolts passing through appropriate slots in the table. A third bracket 22 is located radially out- Wardly of the needle carrier 2| and radially ina wardly of the bracket l6, and is adjustably connected withthe table by a bolt engaging an appropriate slot in the table and supports a verticallyadjustable member 23 connected thereto by a bolt traversing a slot therein and a slot in the member 23, a horizontal member of which carries in a, vertical plane the push-down wheel which is generally designated 24 and which is located perpendicularly above the needles I l as indicated in Figure 2.

The inside bracket I5 carries by its member I9 a vertical bearing 25 on which is operatively mounted the inside operating wheel 26.

The outside bracket [6 carries by means of its member 20 a vertical bearing 21 which rotatably carries the outside operating wheel 28 which is located above and slightly overhangs the inside .operating wheel 26.

The operating wheels are identical in form, but inverted with respect to each other as indicated in Figure 2, and as shown in Figure 6, com- 5 prise. a circular disk cut in its circumferential edge with large V-shaped notches 29 into the apexof each of which opens a small generally rectangular radially inwardly extending notch '30 adjacent pairs of the notches resulting in teeth 3| having substantially parallel sides with the radially outward ends thereof arranged in plan-es passing chordally through the wheel.

1 The push-down wheel 24, a portion of which is shown also in Figure 4, is illustrated in Figure 7 as comprising a circular disk having notches 32 cut in its circumferential edge which define substantially triangular teeth 33, into which notches 32 lead openings 34 on the inner side of the disk, the openings 34 having substantially parallel sides and the triangular cross section indicated in Figure 4. Each of the various Wheels is equipped with a suitable hub. It will also be observed that the radially outward ends of the teeth on the inside and outside operating Wheels are beveled, while the radially outward ends of the teeth on the pushdown wheel 24 are straight.

The fabric of the invention is attained by spreading the stitches in every alternate course so as to make a course of lock stitches. It'is to be observed that the attachment of the invention does not change otherwise the operation of the knitting machine in any manner. The spreading of the stitches is accomplished by the insertion between the knitting feeds 1, 8, and 9, ll) of the units l3, M, which contain wheels which are run, that is rotated, by the engagement of the rotating needle cylinder therewith. These wheels may be operated in any other position than. that of the vertical and. horizontal shown herein.

' The operation of the attachment is asfollows:

While the needles I I are travelling between the unit I 3 and the unit l4, two courses of regular stitches are made by the units 8 and 9 as will be evident. The wheels 26, 28 and 24 have the same pitch and the teeth the same spacing as the needles H. The inside operating wheel 26 is so adjusted that two of the needles at a time are engaged by the large V-shaped notch 29 thereon and are thereby bent out of the true vertical, and by means of the small parallel side slot 30 the same pair of needles is still further bent out of the vertical and into the position shown in Figure 9 from that shown in Figure 8. The position of the yarn at this juncture, that is in the position of the needles shown in Figure 9, is clearly illustrated in Figure 4. While the pair of needles mentioned is still in the position shown in Figures 9 and 4 they are engaged by the push down wheel. and the teeth thereof depress the stitch 35, so that upon release of the pair of needles by the wheel 24 they spring back to their initial position, whereby half of the stitch originally on the first needle to engage the units l3 and I4 is transferred to the immediately following needle of the pair, so that the immediately following needle will then carry one and one-half stitches.

When released from engagement by one of the spreading units, the needles having returned to their initial positions resume their travel through the next succeeding ordinary feeds toward the remaining spreading unit of the attachment, the stitches described being held below the heads of the needles by any suitable guide means. In the transit between the spreading units, two regular courses of stitches are made, the first to clear the non-run stitch, and the second course to be split by the second spreading unit with the following variation. The first needle of the said pair having engaged and passed through the first spreading unit, carries one and one-half stitches, and the succeeding needle only one-half of a stitch. In order to obtain a uniform fabric, the operating Wheels and the push-down wheel of the second spreading unit are so adjusted that upon arriving thereat, the last regular stitch on the said needle carrying the extra half stitch is picked up and spread and one-half of a stitch is transferred to the next succeeding needle on the cylinder. That is to say, the first needle and the following needle are acted upon by the first spreading unit, and the said following needle and the next succeeding needle, that is, a third needle, are acted upon by the second spreading unit, and at the next half revolution of the needle carrier, the said third needle and a next succeeding or fourth needle are acted upon in the manner described in connection with the first and second needles, the operation of spreading the stitch being repeated on each pair of adjacent needles.

Starting at any given point on the circumference of the needle carrier the first needle to engage the unit I 3 may properly be referred to as thefirst needle, for purposes of describing the knitting cycle. The second, third, fourth, etc. needles are then so called by reference to this first needle according to their order in following the first needle. On the first engagement, the unit l3 spreads the stitch on the first needle over and onto the second needle. Then two plain courses are knitted on the units 8 and 9. On the second plain course the unit [4 spreads the stitch of the second needle over and onto the third needle. This process and sequence is repeated throughout the knitting operation of the machine. The inside and outside operating wheels 26, 28, respectively, are as already stated, identical in design, the inside wheel 26 being reversed with respect to the outside operating wheel in order to bring the upper side of the teeth in contact with the needles as shown in Figure 2. The inside wheel 26 is shown as operating below the outside wheel 28 and as close to the operating teeth the outside wheel as possible.

It will be noted that it is essential to maintain the position of the needles of the said pair, that is, the first and second needles, the second and third needles, and the third and fourth needles, etc. brought into being by the inside operating wheel 26 until the new position obtained by the operation of the outside wheel is arrived at, thereby making the movement of each pair of adjacent needles continuous from the normal position to the spreading position shown in Figures and 4. It is to be noted that in present knitting machines making a lock or non-running stitch, the stitch is usually obtained by bringing the machine to a dead stop and accomplishing the operations by means of pickers or similar devices to make a change in the stitching, whereas in the device of the invention continuous operation of the machine is not interfered with, so that considerable increase in the productivity of the machine, and considerable economy of power and labor is effected, together with an increase in the uniformity and perfection of the resulting fabric.

Although we have shown and described herein a preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be definitely understood that we do not desire to limit the application of our invention thereto, and any change or changes may be made in material and structure and arrangement of parts,

within the spirit of the invention and the scope 1 of the subioined claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. A lock stitch imposing attachment for a conventional circular knitting machine having a 'pair of plain course forming feeds and a rotatable carrier equipped with circumferentially spaced vertically arranged needles; said attachment comprising a unit disposed adjacent said carrier and between said feeds; said unit comprising an outside pairing wheel, an inside pairing wheel, and a push down wheel cooperating with said outside and inside wheels, the latter wheels having their peripheries formed with means to engage two succeeding needles as the carrier is rotated and dispose one of these needles in back of the other so that the beards of the needles remain open and the stitch on one needle can be spread over and onto a succeeding needle of said carrier, said push down wheel having its periphery formed with second means to engage the two needles disposed as stated in a manner to spread the stitch over and down along the two needles whereby a spread locked stitch is produced on alternate needles of said carrier.

2. A lock stitch imposing attachment for a circular knitting machine and including a pair of plain course forming feeds and a carrier equipped with circumferentially spaced verticall arranged needles, said attachment comprising a unit disposed adjacent said carrier and between said feeds, means to engage two succeeding needles and dispose one of these needles in back of the other so that the stitch on one needle can be spread over and onto the said two needles of said carrier, said means spreading the loops on the pair alternately.

3. A lock stitch imposing attachment for a circular knitting machine and including a pair of plain course forming feeds and a carrier equipped with circumferentially spaced vertical arranged needles, said attachment comprising a unit disposed adjacent said carrier and between said feeds, means to engage two succeeding needles and dispose one of these needles in back of the other so that the stitch on one needle can be spread over and onto the said two needles of said carrier, said means spreading the loops on the pair alternately, and a notched push down wheel geared to the needles.

I JOSEPH A. SOMJl/LERS.

MILTON FRIEDMAN. 

